Jason Collins becomes first openly gay active athlete
At 34 years of age, Jason Collins finds himself in an interesting spot. After finishing last season with the Washington Wizards via a trade from the Boston Celtics, Collins is now a free agent. Standing at 7 feet tall, Collins has been in the league since 2001. He was drafted 18th overall in the 2001, after being named an All-American at Stanford University. He was part of the New Jersey Nets first ever NBA Finals berth in 2002, and after 2008 season became somewhat of a journeyman. Now, with questions of the future beginning to creep in, future job prospects aren't the only thing on Collins’s mind.
In an article for Sports Illustrated, Collins announced that he is a homosexual. This announcement makes Collins the first active gay athlete in the history of NBA, as well as professional football, baseball, or hockey in the United States. According to Collins, “I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I’m happy to start the conversation. I wish I wasn't the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, ‘I’m different.’ If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I’m raising my hand.”
While Collins made a large statement on Monday by outing himself, the reactions, of course, have been mixed. On the positive side, the NBA Players Association has said that, “We congratulate Jason for having the courage to ‘raise the hand,’ as he wrote in his story, and start the conversation.” On top of that, after having once been fined for using derogatory slurs towards homosexual individuals, Kobe Bryant turned a new leaf and tweeted, “Proud of @jasoncollins34. Don’t suffocate who u r because of the ignorance of others #courage #support #mambaarmystandup #BYOU."
Outside of the sports world, support has drizzled in from many walks of life. Collins has an endorsement with Nike, who issued the statement, “We admire Jason’s courage and are proud that he is a Nike athlete. Nike believes in a level playing field where an athlete’s sexual orientation is not a consideration.”
Nike’s support was mirrored by Bill Clinton, whose daughter Chelsea attended school with Collins. Clinton stated, “Jason’s announcement today is an important moment for professional sports and in the history of the LGBT community.” He went on to say that "For so many members of the LGBT community, these simple goals remain elusive. I hope that everyone, particularly Jason’s colleagues in the NBA, the media and his many fans extend to him their support and the respect he has earned.”
Unfortunately, with everything in life, there are two sides to the story. Former New York Knicks player, and current representative for the organization, tweeted (without proofreading), “I don’t Jason Collins personally but he seems like a great guy. Me personally gay men in the locked room would make me uncomfortable.” He was joined in his insensitive and senseless comments on social media by NFL players Mike Wallace and Alphonso Smith. Walace deleted two tweets, then sent one saying, “never said anything was right or wrong I just said I don’t understand!” Smith’s tweet went along the lines of, “It’s a shame I have to apologize for my TRUE feelings.”
In regards to why Collins chose this time to come out, he said two things affected him. First, he was inspired by his former roommate at Stanford, Massachusetts congressman Joe Kennedy, who marched as an ally in Boston’s Gay Pride Parade last year. Secondly, he said the Boston Marathon Bombings made him think, “…that I shouldn't wait for circumstances of my coming out to be perfect. Things can change in an instant, so why not live truthfully?”
While the reaction from Collins outing himself has been mixed, the fact is, Collins is doing exactly what he wants to do for himself. In regards to his current situation, Collins states that, “Now I am a free agent, literally and figuratively. I've reached that enviable state in life in which I can do pretty much what I want. And what I want is to continue to play basketball.” While he may not want to be the face of a movement, Jason Collins actions will go down as one of the boldest and bravest moves in American sports history.
